Kirby by Samantha Anne

ROMANTIC COMEDY

Publication date: 07/02/2018
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No

I can see myself joining the unpopular opinion crew on this one, frankly. Why? Because I hated the movie Serendipity, which most women my age seemed to adore and think was the most romantic thing ever. The idea that the heroine decided to leave everything up to fate and not get the hero’s number immediately irked the crap out of me. You’ve just met a great guy and you’re going to let him get away, just to prove that fate will lead you back to each other? It’s a dumbass move, so really, the whole movie didn’t work for me. (Even though I adore John Cusak. But I digress…) ​

Kirby didn’t rely on serendipity as a concept per se, but it did rely on the idea of a relationship between the hero, Joe, and the heroine, Rachel, being kismet. Kismet is a kind of serendipity, in my opinion, in that no matter what happens, these two souls will be brought together in the end. Well, I guess I’m just a grumpy old lady for not believing that kind of thing can happen anywhere outside of a rom com.

Now, that’s not to say that the whole novel didn’t work. Here’s what I thought worked really well:

1. The whole idea of Rachel needing extra money and taking a job as a phone sex operator is kind of hilarious. It’s the kind of thing I would expect to see in a rom com starring Kate Hudson or (enter name of other young, plucky starlet here).  
2. Rachel as a heroine is very relateable. She’s the kind of girl you’d want to be friends with. Rachel would drive you to the airport, bring you ice cream and booze after a breakup, and would never steal your boyfriend. She’s just an all-around good person. But she’s not such a goody-goody that I got irritated with her as a character. There was balance to her character, and I appreciated that.
3. Joe’s a decent hero, too. He’s not an alphahole, and in romance these days, that’s something to be celebrated. It makes Joe a bit of a romance hero unicorn.
4. I think one of the markers of a good romantic comedy novel is whether or not you could envision it on the big screen, and this one definitely reads like a popular rom com chick flick.
5. It’s a slow burn. This isn’t a couple that immediately jumps into bed together. I can always appreciate a good slow-burn romance.   
6. This is a sweet, easy read. Very low angst.       

Here’s what didn’t work for me (again, keep in mind I’m a grumpy old lady who hated the movie Serendipity and doesn’t believe in the entire concept of kismet):

1. The number of times Rachel literally bumped into Joe and almost fell down is too high for my liking. Really, this should never happen to a romance heroine more than once in a story. Ever. If that kept happening in real life, the dude would think she was drunk, or had some kind of inner ear infection that was impacting her balance. Either way, it’s not cute.
2. In a city as large as New York, I find it super hard to believe that Rachel and Joe would keep getting thrown together. It tripped my bullshit meter several times.
3. No dude EVER calls a phone sex line just to chat with someone about his day. I don’t care how new to town he is, or how lonely he is, that’s just NOT DONE. And why didn’t Joe realize who “Kirby” was immediately? No one sounds THAT different on the phone.
4. Instalove. There’s no way around it. Just because these two didn’t fall immediately into bed together doesn’t mean their relationship wasn’t instalove-y. I have very little patience for instalove.
5. While I love that Joe isn’t an alphahole, there’s a fine line between a nice-guy beta hero and an insecure wuss. There was a time or two when Joe toed the line a bit more than I would have liked with his insecurities.    

But, overall, if you’re in the mood for a light, fluffy rom com, and if you liked the movie Serendipity (or even the old-time Rock Hudson/Doris Day romps), you should probably consider giving this one a try.

Full disclosure: we received an ARC from the author free of charge.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s not doing anything to contribute, and it’s not really doing anything to crush the stigma. It’s Switzerland.    

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